Tag Archives: boy

The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlastinglove;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you – Jeremiah 31:3

Imagine you are a South Asian woman. Every day is a struggle and a challenge to survive. All you know is oppression from the day you were born until the day you die. As a girl child, your birth is not celebrated. You feel unwanted and are constantly reminded that you should have been born a boy. You are neglected, mistreated, abused or abandoned. As a young girl, you are abducted and forced into a life of prostitution which increases your risk of dying from AIDS.

If you are a widow, you are blamed for your husband’s death. His family and your community shun you and you are forced to fend for yourself. You are forced into an inhumane existence. You are completely alone, with no one to support or care for you. Life is too hard. There is no help. There is no hope. Only despair, misery and pain. What’s the use? Tens of thousands of widows end their lives just to end the pain.

If your dowry is not enough, your husband can douse you with kerosene and set you on fire. I have read horror stories of women being set on fire by their husbands or in-laws because of their dowries. A woman’s life is not worth anything. It’s hard to believe that there are countries where it’s not safe to be a woman. It can even be fatal. Women who survive infanticide because of gender are forced to live in a society which denies them rights to equality, respect, education, etc.

Being a woman in South Asia is unimaginable and unbearable for many and it is not surprising that the suicide rate is up to 21 times higher than the world’s average. Life for these women is a never-ending cycle of misery, hopelessness, degradation and rejection. These women need to know that there is hope. They need to know that there is a God who values them. To Him they are precious. They were fearfully and wonderfully made in His image.

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you – Jeremiah 1:5

Imagine the joy these women will have when they hear about Jesus for the first time through Gospel for Asia’s ministries. Help them find hope and joy in a Savior who loved them so much that He gave His life for them so that one day they could spend eternity with Him. They need to know that they are worth a price far above rubies. They need to know that although there might have been silence in their homes on the days they were born, there was a joyful noise in heaven.

Women missionaries have been bringing the message of love and hope to the women of Asia. It is crucial that women minister to women because of the Asian culture. Women are more comfortable around other women. Gospel for Asia has trained, dedicated women missionaries who are willing to risk their lives to share the love of Jesus Christ with millions of women who still need to hear the Good News. These heroic women missionaries are willing to risk persecution, beatings and imprisonment because they are passionate about giving hope to women who have lived in despair for so long. They want to offer hurting women healing and encouragement. They want to bring the Savior’s light and love into their dark and uncaring world. Many Asian woman have had their lives transformed but there are still so many who are still waiting.

Weeping may endure for a night, But joycomes in the morning – Psalm 30:5

Help Gospel for Asia send more missionaries to those who are perishing without knowing about Jesus and His love. Find out how at this link. Help bring joy to a woman in Asia.

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need – Hebrews 4:16

The power of prayer is remarkable. We have a God whom we can go to and ask for grace, mercy and help for others or ourselves and He will be more than happy to help us. Jesus was always encouraging people to pray. He told the story of the persistent widow who wearied the unjust judge until he granted her request. Jesus made it clear that if an unjust judge could grant this woman her request, how much more wouldn’t our loving Father grant ours.

When Santinu, a young boy from a poor village was diagnosed with a brain tumor, it must have seemed hopeless to his family and neighbors. However, with God nothing is hopeless or impossible. Through the prayers of Santinu’s friend, Sagan and a group of children from the Bridge of Hope Center, God demonstrated His awesome power.

Now, my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open and let Your ears be attentive to the prayermade in this place – 2 Chronicles 6:40

I watched this incredible video and saw how God moves mightily in what might seem like insurmountable situations.

My friends and I started praying together because I believe in Jesus and I believe He can heal – Sagan

I was moved by the persistent prayer of these children. They went every day to Santinu’s home to pray for him. Jesus instructed us to, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Matthew 7:7). These children didn’t pray once and thought that was enough. No, they prayed daily until God answered. Their faith and trust in Him and their persistence impacted not only the sick boy’s life but the lives of others who needed healing too.

As I watched Santinu writhing in pain, I knew that God would intervene because He can’t stand to see anyone suffering. It was His will to heal Santinu. When I saw Santinu giving his testimony of how prayer had healed him, I couldn’t believe that it was the same boy. He looked completely different. He was no longer in pain. He was no longer facing death. God had blessed him with a new life, future and hope.

Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place – 2 Chronicles 7:15

It is God’s will to do so much for us. All we have to do is ask. God could have healed Santinu on His own but He chose to involve the children. The children had seen the power of prayer in the lives of their teachers and as a result they followed their example. I thought it was great how God decided to show Sagan and his prayer group that He will answer their prayers too in a mighty way. Like their teachers, they got to see the power of prayer demonstrated in their own lives and in the life of Santinu. People came to know the God who heals through children.

Have you seen the power of prayer in action? My husband has! Just the other day, he prayed to God about the pain in his leg. The very day he prayed about it, God answered. He can get in and out of the car without experiencing any pain. Yesterday morning we spoke about it. I said that God is just waiting to give us what we need. All we have to do is ask.

God uses anyone to impact the lives of others. He used Sagan and a group of children to show His love and mercy to those who didn’t know Him. He used the meek. These children acted in faith and humility, trusting in the power of the God they had learned about from their teachers at the Bridge of Hope.

This video showed me that as parents, teachers, we are to be godly examples to our children, training them up in the way they are to go so that when they are older they will not depart but will in turn teach the next generations by their example.

I will share this video with my seven year old son. I want him to see that no matter how old or how young you are, God can use you to help others and that prayer is a very powerful tool. Through prayer, God can use you to change lives, work miracles, move mountains and do the impossible. It is important for children to know that as long as their prayers are from the heart, God will hear them and respond. Encourage them to pray every day.

If you are interested in learning more about the Bridge of Hope, visit this link.

And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive – Matthew 21:22

Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue me from their destructions, My precious life from the lions – Psalm 35:17.

There’s nothing worse than when a child goes missing. All sorts of horrible thoughts go through our minds and we fear the worst. When I read about Nadish, my heart went out to his mother. His attitude to his schoolwork reminded me of my son’s. My son is seven and he doesn’t take his education seriously. He prefers to play and draw although he is very smart. His father is hard on him because he knows that he has potential and can excel in school if he just gets serious. Nadish’s mother wanted what was best for him and that is why she scolded him. He was given a opportunity that other children didn’t have–an education in the Bridge of Hope Centre in India. There are children, like my son who are in good Christian schools being taught by dedicated teachers and they take it for granted.

Like most children, Nadish didn’t liked being scolded. He ran away from home and found himself in a large city railway station in India. I can’t imagine how scary it must have been for this nine year old boy. He must have looked like a waif, surrounded by strange faces in strange surroundings so far removed from the home he shared with his mother. Perhaps, the enormity of what he had done came rushing over him. Perhaps he wished he hadn’t run away. Perhaps he missed his mother and would have preferred being scolded by her than being in that strange and scary place. Perhaps these emotions are what made him go with the elderly man who befriended him. Perhaps the man made him feel safe. Nadish went with him to his home village.

And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light – 2 Corinthians 11:14

Nadish found himself plunged into a world he never imagined he would be. Forced into slavery, he spent the next two years living as a prisoner and cleaning up animal waste. I wonder what went through his mind when he was locked in a room near the animals he cleaned up after and got very little food to eat. Was he wishing that he was home like the prodigal son who wished he was home when he was living in squalor after wasting his money? Was Nadish wishing that he was with his mother, doing his schoolwork and eating a good meal? He had left a haven for a hovel.

Meanwhile, Nadish’s mother was beside herself with grief and worry. She had lost her husband to cancer and now one of her sons was lost too. The staff at the Bridge of Hope Centre prayed fervently for Nadish.

For the eyes of the LORDare on the righteous, And His earsare open to their prayers;
But the face of the LORDisagainst those who do evil – 1 Peter 3:12

God answered their prayers. Two years after his capture, Nadish and a new boy escaped because their landlord forgot to lock the door to the room where they were held captive. Nadish had turned twelve years old thirteen days before. He and the boy ran to the nearest police station and gave evidence against their captor. Hopefully they were able to arrest him so that he couldn’t enslave another child.

Nadish is now back home with his mother and participating in Bridge of Hope again. The horror he want through is still with him. It is a mental struggle for him so he needs your prayers. Pray that he will be able to concentrate on his schoolwork and catch up on what he missed.

Nadish is one of the more fortunate ones. He is no longer missing. He is safe with his family. There are other children out there. Some are abducted by strangers and forced into slave labor while others are trafficked and exploited in the sex trade. Then there are those who are sold to families to work as domestic help. This reminds me of Cosette in Les Miserables. She was forced to work as a domestic and she was under the age of 10. She was beaten and hardly fed. The cat was treated better than her. Meanwhile her mother, Fantine was under the impression that the couple who had her daughter were treating her well. Fantine died never knowing the truth or seeing her daughter again.

The statistics on missing children are staggering.

In India it is reported that 45,000 children are missing each year

Close to 13 million children younger than 15 years are in India’s workforce. This is more than any other country in the world. Some estimate that the real number is closer to 100 million.

In Thailand nearly 1 out of every 10 children between the ages of 10 and 14 are working instead of going to school

In Bangladesh, it is estimated that 27 percent of children ages 10-14 are working in hazardous work conditions

In Sri Lanka, the fishing industry is one of the most physically punishing forms of child labor, keeping children in slave-like conditions and out of the public eye

UNICEF estimates that 4,500 children from Bangladesh are trafficked to Pakistan each year while thousands more are sent to India and the Middle East.

Thankfully, Gospel for Asia is doing something to stop these atrocities. They are working among South Asia’s most endangered children.

Another way you can help is through prayer. Gospel of Asia offers these prayer suggestions:

Pray for children to be rescued, reunited and accepted back into their families.

Pray for the physical needs of the children. Most do not get enough to eat, and the physical labor they are forced to do can cripple their bodies. Pray for the Lord to provide for them and protect them from harm.

Pray for the girls—and boys—forced to work in the sex trade. Ask the Lord to bring the brothel owners’ and customers’ misdeeds into the light and for the love of Jesus to permeate those dark places.

Pray for a radical attitude shift in South Asian society so citizens of these countries will demand an end to the exploitation of children.

Prayer is the most powerful tool we have, let us use it and then watch God do amazing things.

And the LORD shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, Because they trust in Him – Psalm 37:40.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you – Jeremiah 1:5

Imagine as you hold your baby daughter in your arms for the first time or you remember the first time you looked into those big, innocent eyes, that there is another baby girl who is not wanted simply because she is a girl. As you tell your daughter or grand-daughter how much you love her, imagine a little girl whose father doesn’t love her because she is not a boy. As you reminisce about the day you brought your daughter home from the hospital and laid her in her crib, watching her lie there, surrounded by stuff animals, and pretty wallpaper, welcoming her to her new home, think about another little girl who is abandoned–with no home to go to or a pretty room to call her own. Hard to believe, isn’t it? However, this is the reality that many women and girls face in South Asia. It is Mayuri’s reality.

After five years of barrenness, Mayuri finally got pregnant. For nine months she and her husband Rafat were looking forward to the day their son was born. This child would restore peace to a home that had been fraught with years of disappointments and bitter arguments. He would be the pride and joy of his family. Things were finally looking up.

The big day arrived. Excitement filled the air as Mayuri went into labor. However, when the baby boy turned out to be a baby girl, the celebration was over. Hope turned to horror as Mayuri was to face what usually happens to a woman when she gives birth to a girl instead of a boy. It is the same thing Mayuri’s mother no doubt faced when she had her.

Like most girls, Mayuri was not loved by her father. In fact, he drank, gambled and chased after women while she and her mother worked everyday to earn enough money to feed the family of five. When they refused to give their wages to her father, he beat them. Sometimes he beat her mother for no apparent reason.

Life at home was terrible for Mayuri. So much so that her mother, Olimani prayed to all the deities and local goddesses, hoping that her husband would change but her prayers went unanswered. He remained the same. As any mother does, Olimani wanted a better life for her daughter. She wanted Mayuri to escape her father’s abuse so she married off her when she was 14 years old.

Sadly, Mayuri’s new life turned into a nightmare. She escaped abuse at her father’s hands only to experience abuse from the man she was to spend the rest of her life with…

The abuse women face for bearing daughters is so great that many have resorted to gender-selective abortion and infanticide, resulting in millions of “missing girls” in Asia. Discover more about this and other issues facing South Asian women in Gospel for Asia’s new film documentary, “Veil of Tears.”

At first, life with Rafat seemed promising but that soon changed when they were unable to have children. The couple’s infertility caused tension in their relationship. Unfortunately, in South Asia, the woman is blamed for the couple’s inability to have children. Mayuri bore this shame alone for more than four years. How she must have suffered. I can’t help but think of Hannah who was barren but had a husband who loved her dearly. And of Abraham who didn’t love Sarah any less because she couldn’t conceive. Yet women like Mayuri are blamed, scorned and mistreated because they have trouble getting pregnant.

And when Mayuri finally got pregnant, she gave birth to a girl. She could not even celebrate having a child, regardless of the gender, after trying to get pregnant unsuccessfully for five years . She is punished by her husband. It’s unthinkable that the woman is blamed for the baby’s gender when it’s the man who determines the sex of the child. Ultimately, it is God who decides the gender and in His eyes, a child, whether it is a boy or a girl, is a gift from Him.

God blessed Mayuri with a second daughter but this made life worse for her. The abuse she suffered at the hands of her husband got worse. She got no sympathy from her mother-in-law and her husband disrespected her in front of the family. Things got to the point where Mayuri had to flee.

Furious at Mayuri for having two daughters after five years of infertility, Mayuri’s husband and mother-in-law abused her until she ran away.

Alone and with two daughters to raise there was nowhere for Mayuri to go except to her parents’ home. It grieved Olimani to see that her daughter had suffered abuse at the hands of her husband just as she had herself. Thankfully, Mayuri’s father was no longer living there. He had left and remarried. However, Mayuri’s problems were far from over. After losing her money to a con artist, she had to find work and the only option she felt she had was to turn to prostitution in order to keep her daughters from starving.

Desperate to support her daughters, Mayuri became a prostitute, which meant being shunned by the entire community—except for a GFA pastor.

It’s heartbreaking to see the lengths a mother will go in order to take care of her children. It’s also heartwarming to see the way God works. It was when Mayuri had a health crisis that she came to know Him. In search of healing she visited temples and offered sacrifices but her condition only grew worse. Until one day, Gospel for Asia pastor Patakin offered her the chance to pray to a different God. That meeting changed Mayuri’s life forever. Through the prayers of the members of the church where she was invited to worship and fellowship, God healed her. Today, Mayuri sees God’s faithfulness in her life and in the lives of her daughters as He has provided her with a respectable job and a school for them.

“Today, I am living; that is only by the grace of God. I was totally healed from my sickness by the blood of Christ. … Now I am living by faith in Jesus Christ” – Mayuri

By His act of love and mercy, God showed through Gospel for Asia and their missionary work that every life is precious and cause for celebration. If you are interested in helping other women and girls like Mayuri and her daughters, sponsor a woman missionary. Find out how here.

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works,And that my soul knows very well – Psalm 139:14

One of my favorite Biblical characters is Jethro. He was a wise man, loving father and friend. He had seven daughters and never once did he ever make them feel unloved or unwanted. Not so, with Ruth. Ruth is a young Asian woman who lives in a world where being a girl can stir hatred, abuse and neglect and even lead to death.

As the youngest of three girls in my family, I cannot imagine my father hating me because I turned out to be a girl instead of a boy. Yet, this was Ruth’s experience. Her father displayed exceptional hatred toward her until finally she had to find out why. Why did her father hate her so? What had she done to stir such toxic feelings in him? She asked and his response was, “You should have been a boy!” Afterwards, he stopped speaking to her altogether. Not once did my father ever mistreat me or make me feel unloved or unwanted because he his third child to be a boy and got another girl instead. I grew up with my father’s love unlike Ruth…

All Ruth knew was hatred. Both of her parents hated her because before Ruth, the couple had three daughters. Another daughter meant that the family name will not be carried on, there will not be enough income provided for her parents and it meant another marriage dowry which would sink them into debt. They were so desperate for a son that they sold one of their fields and gave the money to a priest. They asked him to pray to his gods so that they could have a baby boy. They truly believed that they were going to have a boy this time and when they didn’t…

For more of Ruth’s story, watch the video and see how God changes her circumstances from pain and heartache to triumph and in the process, change her father.

Ruth’s story has a happy ending. Thanks to the women missionaries of Gospel for Asia, she learned that there is a Father who loves her. God showed her that she has value and He called her to serve Him. You can help other girls like Ruth—sponsor a woman missionary today.

God’s kingdom will be made up of sons and daughters and we will reign one day as co-heirs with our Lord Jesus Christ who died for everyone.

Imagine hearing the words, “You should have been a boy”! Imagine being shunned your entire life because you were born a girl. Well, this is what happened to Ruth. Watch her incredible story.

Visit Veil of Tears website to find out how you can get involved in International Women’s Day on Sunday, March 8. Encourage your friends to check out the Veil of Tears movie at www.veiloftearsmovie.com

Read A Baby Girl is Nothing to Celebrate the incredible and heart-breaking story of a woman who couldn’t celebrate the birth of her child after years of infertility because the child turned out to be a girl instead of a boy…

Check out Gospel for Asia and see what you can do to make a difference in the lives of girls like Ruth who are made to feel like they are nothing or worthless or shunned simply because they are girls. You can help Gospel For Asia in their ongoing mission to bring hope and the news of Jesus’ love each day through their work and ministry to the countless millions of women in Asia.

This International Women’s Day, celebrate girls. Celebrate the birth of your daughter. Give God thanks for blessing you with her. Celebrate her life. A baby girl is everything to celebrate.

Today I learned who wrote the beautiful hymn, Precious Lord, the one we hear playing in the background when we see images of starving children in poverty stricken countries. Here is the story of how this hymn was born:

Back in 1932, I was a fairly new husband.

My wife, Nettie and I were living in a little apartment on Chicago’s south side. One hot August afternoon I had to go to St. Louis where I was to be the featured soloist at a large revival meeting. I didn’t want to go; Nettie was in the last month of pregnancy with our first child, but a lot of people were expecting me in St. Louis . I kissed Nettie goodbye, clattered downstairs to our Model A and, in a fresh Lake Michigan breeze, chugged out of Chicago on Route 66.

However, outside the city, I discovered that in my anxiety at leaving, I had forgotten my music case. I wheeled around and headed back.

I found Nettie sleeping peacefully. I hesitated by her bed; something was strongly telling me to stay. But eager to get on my way, and not wanting to disturb Nettie, I shrugged off the feeling and quietly slipped out of the room with my music.

The next night, in the steaming St. Louis heat, the crowd called on me to sing again and again. When I finally sat down, a messenger boy ran up with a Western Union telegram. I ripped open the envelope….Pasted on the yellow sheet were the words:YOUR WIFE JUST DIED.

People were happily singing and clapping around me, but I could hardly keep from crying out. I rushed to a phone and called home. All I could hear on the other end was “Nettie is dead. Nettie is dead.'”

When I got back, I learned that Nettie had given birth to a boy. I swung between grief and joy. Yet that same night, the baby died.

I buried Nettie and our little boy together, in the same casket. Then I fell apart. For days I closeted myself.

I felt that God had done me an injustice. I didn’t want to serve Him anymore or write gospel songs I just wanted to go back to that jazz world I once knew so well. But then, as I hunched alone in that dark apartment those first sad days, I thought back to the afternoon I went to St. Louis . Something kept telling me to stay with Nettie. Was that something God? Oh, if I had paid more attention to Him that day, I would have stayed and been with Nettie when she died.

From that moment on I vowed to listen more closely to Him. But still I was lost in grief. Everyone was kind to me, especially one friend. The following Saturday evening he took me up to Maloney’s Poro College , a neighborhood music school. It was quiet; the late evening sun crept through the curtained windows.

I sat down at the piano, and my hands began to browse over the keys. Something happened to me then. I felt at peace. I felt as though I could reach out and touch God. I found myself playing a melody. Once in my head they just seemed to fall into place: ‘Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on, let me stand, I am tired,

I am weak, I am worn, through the storm, through the night, lead me on to the light, take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.’

The Lord gave me these words and melody, He also healed my spirit. I learned that when we are in our deepest grief, when we feel farthest from God, this is when He is closest, and when we are most open to His restoring power.

And so I go on living for God willingly and joyfully, until that day comes when He will take me and gently lead me home.

—-Tommy Dorsey

This story is a reminder that during the times when we are hurting and we are angry with God, He is right there. He never left! He speaks to our hearts and there are times when we ought to listen but we don’t. We let the cares or distractions of the world occupy our thoughts. God knows and sees everything. When He speaks to your heart–listen. If like, Tommy, God tells you to stay close to a loved one, do it. You may never get another opportunity to be with that person. And, whenever you are hurting and you feel alone, remember this promise, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

Tommy was not alone–he had God and his and Nettie’s son–a reminder of the love they shared.